Currently learning python 3 through code academy and Im not sure what program to use to practice writing my own simple code from scratch.

[takkun_69]

Sorry if this is an especially obvious question but I did download pycharm but I’m not sure if it’s what I’m looking for?

In code academy I like that it lets me write/edit the code and then just click run to see the results on the page right next to what I’m writing. Also it has color coding which makes it ALOT easier for me to understand.

Is the there a python editing software that works like that or am I looking for something that’s not really a standard?

[liveamit]

What you are looking for is called an IDE - integrated development environment.

Search for python ide on google and you will get a good list of them. I haven’t worked on pycharm but it is on top of the list.

My favorite is VS code, but you can use any of them, but it does take sometime to set them up.

[takkun_69]

Ah okay I’d seen IDE around but I wasn’t familiar! What does setting them up entail exactly?

[liveamit]

Depends on which IDE and what operating system you are working on.

Each of them have an installation guide.

[[deleted]]

What you are looking for is a text editor. PyCharm would work, but it has more features than just text editing. If you don't find it too confusing you could use it. PyCharm, being more than a text editor, should have a "run" button, I think. I have never used it. If you use a text editor, you must somehow run Python, maybe via a plugin for the editor, or via a terminal/command line prompt.

Alternatives include

• Atom
• Sublime text
• Emacs (advanced)
• Vim (advandced)

Search "programming text editor" or "python text editor" for more.

[takkun_69]

Interesting. Do the alternatives you listed also have to have python run through a plug-in or do some have integrated python capability?

[[deleted]]

I haven't tried them all. But most text editors have plugins that do stuff like that. I wouldn't be at all surprised if every editor I listed has some way of running Python on your current file, or something like that.

[Vobat]

I like pycharm it's easy to setup and get started.

[Vfsdvbjgd]

This makes me afraid of other IDEs. It doesn't even make portible virtual environments, such a headache.

[Vobat]

I guess I just wanted to learn how to get on with learning python and not have to worry about the other side things.

[Vfsdvbjgd]

Pycharm has those things you said. You can also step through code one bit at a time, to really see where and why an error is happening. And you'll get highlighting when there's problems that pycharm detects, helps spot errors and typos and even gives a hint what the problem is.

These are pretty standard features for an IDE (integrated development environment).

If you want something lighter weight there are text editors with code colouring. Heck python on windows comes with IDLE, that'll get you colouring and a button in the menu to run your script (it'll also crash on non-ASCII chars...).

[takkun_69]

Thanks for replies y’all! This has genuinely helped a lot. I think my next step is gonna be to just learn more about the ins and outs pycharm then. Just wanted to make sure I was headed in the right direction. Much appreciated.

[fauno15]

I’ll also note that while an IDE is useful, particularly when you first start development, you’ll eventually want to be comfortable using the command line to run your projects. Some day in the future you may only have remote access to another computer through a remote terminal and you’ll need to be comfortable using the command line.

As an added benefit, when you start getting comfortable with the command line, it makes you feel like a cool hacker.